AC TRANSIT CONGRATULATES 4 DIRECTORS ON THEIR ELECTIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The new Board Directors will take the Oath of Office, December 2

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) is pleased to announce the election and re-election of four members to its policymaking Board of Directors. The Directors will assume a four-year term, which begins December 2, 2022.

"When we can get to and from essential places reliably, we can do more with our lives and access more opportunities," says Sarah Syed, Director-elect representing Ward 3 which spans the entire City of Alameda, most of the city of San Leandro, and the southeast portion of Oakland. Born in rural Texas to a Polish-Pakistani family, Syed earned two master’s degrees in City Planning and Transportation Engineering at UC Berkeley. She applied her sound academic training in the building of light rail and better bicycle access for both BART and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. As a transit planner, Syed developed bus rapid transit in Los Angeles and advanced safe routes to schools in Oakland and Berkeley. 

"AC Transit is a lifeline for people with disabilities, students, seniors, and low-income residents. I know this reality firsthand. As an Oakland native, AC Transit was my family’s only mode of transportation," says Murphy McCalley, Director-elect representing Ward 4, which spans portions of Hayward, San Leandro, and unincorporated areas of Castro Valley and the surrounding areas. Director McCalley was initially appointed by the Board of Directors last April, where he advocated for low fares for seniors, people with disabilities, East Bay youth, and low-income riders, while simultaneously protecting quality jobs in transit. McCalley holds a bachelor's and a master’s in Public Administration and has been a change agent for transit agencies across California for more than 30 years. McCalley was elected in November by an overwhelming majority of Ward 4 voters. 

"In 2018, during my first election cycle, I stressed that mobility needs in our area have changed and directly advocated for more flexibility. I had no idea how those words would foreshadow the pandemic's disastrous effects on transit, and the resilient re-engineering AC Transit has and will continue to invest toward recovery," says Diane Shaw, incumbent re-elected to represent Ward 5 which spans the Cities of Fremont and Newark and a small portion of Hayward. A retired Information Technology Manager for the San Mateo County Transit District, Shaw is a lifelong user of public transit, regularly riding the Dumbarton Express bus from Fremont-Newark to San Carlos. Shaw received her bachelor’s in Business and Computer Science from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and was first elected to the AC Transit Board of Directors in November 2018.

"AC Transit has helped bolster the East Bay's infrastructure throughout the pandemic. Essential workers, transit-dependent riders, and students rely on us, and with each ride, we have re-earned our rider's trust. As I return to the Board, my focus is deficits and how to improve funding for our invaluable service," says Joel Young, incumbent re-elected as At-Large Director. Young has emerged as one of the Board of Directors longest-tenured policymakers, having been first appointed in February 2009 to fill one of the transit district’s two At Large positions. He was elected by the voters in 2010, re-elected to serve another term in 2014, and 2018, and had a convincing win in November 2022. Young earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and his Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law.

An in-person Oath of Office ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 am Friday, December 2, at AC Transit's General Offices, Second Floor Board Room, 1600 Franklin Street, downtown Oakland.